Just shy of bad singer, anyway I can make it sound better?

[WhiteNite007]

I'm currently recording a friend of mine, sadly, singing isn't there best quality. I keep having him sing take after take hoping I can have enough to make something decent but so far, that hasn't been working out either. What do you guys recommend? Is it possible to use a small amount of autotune where it doesn't sound like T-Pain?

 

[Dogbreath]

I'd say it depends on how bad it is and if it's really worth the extra effort.


If he's close...maybe just send him away to practice his parts with a critical ear til he gets em right.

If he's not even close...maybe another singer is in order.

just my thoughts...

 

[Bristol Posse]

Practice Practice Practice

Not everyone is destined to be a great singer and I would definitely include myself in the not a great singer category. But Everyone can get better, just like not everyone can be a pro athlete but everyone can improve their performance with training

Once I realized the voice is an instrument and needs to be practiced just like drums or guitar or piano it was an epiphany. I, like a lot of people, figured because I can speak without practicing I should just automatically be able to sing too but boy was that wrong

While I'm never going to be a great singer I have definitely noticed daily, structured practice has helped me be:
1) more on pitch
2) less prone to wander off pitch on sustained notes.
3) starting to be a little more expressive
4) have increased my range 2 semitones upward and 3 semitones downward versus what I could do on my first day of practice
5) more confident of my vocals when I do record

it's not an easy answer but is really the only answer if you don't want a vocal that sounds wierd and lifeless after it's been mangled by autotune or the like

 

[apush]

make sure he/she warms up before your session.

have your singer track with one ear on headphone and the other one free. Hearing his/herself in the live room (not canned) will help. You'd be surprised how much.

keep a keyboard handy. if needed, learn the melodies and have your singer follow note by note. I've had to do this with a few singers and it works.

if your singer is close but not quite on, do multiple takes and layer them. Add some chorus to the lead. This will mask some pitchiness

All else fails, Autotune. But use the graphic interface not auto.

 

[jonslaten]

Auto-tune works wonders. But you have to go into the graph mode and manually change the sharp/flat notes. It's not 100% perfect. If you're really off it may make a part sound odd. Just experiment with it. Don't record the vocals in auto-mode. It WILL sound like the T-pain guy. Manually do it. Trust me. And you can download it for free for 10 days I think. I did. I suck at singing . . . really bad ( a guitarist) so I played with it and it made me sound like I could sing "kinda well." Have fun with it. Also most importantly: Make sure you know what key the song is in before you start making changes to the waveforms.

jon

 

[gecko zzed]

I'm currently recording a friend of mine, sadly, singing isn't there best quality. I keep having him sing take after take hoping I can have enough to make something decent but so far, that hasn't been working out either. What do you guys recommend? Is it possible to use a small amount of autotune where it doesn't sound like T-Pain?

Firstly, does it matter? What is the purpose of the recording? Who is going to listen to the results?

Secondly, what is the quality of the song like? And what about the quality of the singing performance (irrespective of whether there are some vocal problems)?

Perfection is not necessary if you have a great song delivered convincingly.

Resorting to autotune is one way of dealing with some pitch problems, but it should be a last resort, rather than a technological fix to an unaddressed problem.

Are there factors in the recording process that are hindering the vocals, for example, headphones too loud or soft, or not enough vocals in the mix? Is there a lot of bass in the headphone mixs (this can cause people to sing flat)?

Can you create a recorded vocal line, using a piano or something, so that the vocalist has got someting to pitch more closely to?

 

[PieBot]

I've made bad singers sound pretty decent with Melodyne. It's not perfect, but it is pretty convincing. Practice and comping takes is a great alternative though. Just remember to be creative and don't get caught up in trying to make it perfect. Does anyone actually think Neil Young is a good singer? probably not, but he fucking rocks.

 

[Richard Monroe]

I agree that *judicious* use of autotune may help in this case. I'm more inclined to back him with choppy, simple, distorted rhythm guitars, make sure no one involved can play lead, Make it incredibly repetitive and boring, and call it "punk" or "alternative". If the music sucks, and you take enough x, it becomes easier to overlook the fact that the singer sucks. Don't let him try to do Queen. Devo, Sid Vicious, and Gwen Stefani are good bets.-Richie

 

[Simman]

Melodyne would be my suggestion

 

[SouthSIDE Glen]

I'm currently recording a friend of mine, sadly, singing isn't there best quality.

why is his singing being recorded? hopefully there is something redeeming about his singing - a la Tom Waits or Bob Dylan - where they may not have golden pipes, but you just get past that because their songwriting or intonation or some other quality makes putting up with the lousy voice worthwhile, and makes the recording worthwhile.

But if the guy just can't carry a tune in a bucket, then what's the point? Even if you autotuned him, so what? He can't sing. Someone, a friend, should tell him that and should recommend that he take his time and actually practice his singing before he rushes in front of a recording device. It'll be one hell of a lot better than running a bad voice through an impassionate computer.

G.